Easiest ways to connect your smartphone to your TV

The line between your various gadgets is blurring by the day. You can connect your tablet to your surveillance system and your smart speaker to your refrigerator. You can see who’s at the door from your computer and adjust the thermostat from your phone.

When it comes to your smart TV, it’s more than just a screen for watching your favorite movies and shows. You can control smart home features from your TV, use it as a computer screen, make video calls and more. Tap or click here for five things you can do with your smart TV that you may not know about.

Wouldn’t it be great to bring the content from your smartphone to your big-screen TV? It’s possible. You can livestream video from your phone to your TV, view files and photos and also play games. Virtually anything you can do on your phone can be cast to your TV. Here’s how.

The wired route

Wireless is great for some functions, but you may experience some issues if you do more complicated and data-heavy tasks. If you are live streaming or playing a game, you will probably experience some lag. The same goes for screen mirroring. A poor Wi-Fi connection will also slow things down.

A USB or HDMI connection works best for more complex applications. You have a few options to connect your phone to your TV directly.

RELATED: The best TV trick you’re probably not using (but should be)

Wired iPhone connection

Your iPhone doesn’t have a USB connection, but you have many adapter options for the Lightning port. To connect to your TV’s HDMI port, you’ll need a Lightning cable, a Lightning to HDMI adapter and an HDMI cable.

Connect your iPhone to the HDMI adapter with a Lightning cable, then connect the adapter to your TV with an HDMI cable. Next, switch your TV to the HDMI port your phone is connected to and you should see your phone screen mirrored on your TV.

Wired Android connection

Newer Android phones have a USB-C port, making them easy to connect to a TV. A USB-C to HDMI cable will let you connect your phone directly to the TV. You can also connect your Android to a USB-C to HDMI adapter using a USB-C cable. Then connect an HDMI cable from the adapter to your TV.

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10 ways to cut your energy bill when spending more time at home

The COVID Delta variant has companies rethinking having employees returning to the office. Tap or click here for an online map that helps you track this dangerous variant.

With more people staying home, household energy use is surging. Unfortunately, the higher electric bills come at a time when people are already financially strapped.

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Override your hotel thermostat: This site compiled videos of all the ways to hack the most common hotel thermostats. For some, it’s as simple as holding down a couple of buttons.

Hotel thermostat hack

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Is it too hot or cold in your room? Here’s how to override your hotel room’s temperature controls.

When smart turns dumb: After 16 years, Ecobee is phasing out its oldest thermostat models, the EB-STAT-02 and EB-EMS-02. After July 31, 2024, they’ll still work as basic thermostats but will lose all server-linked features. Have one? Check the support page to see if you’re eligible for 30% off a newer model.

The best TV trick you're probably not using (but should be)

Think about all the devices you use daily. Your phone, tablet, TV, gaming console, streaming boxes, thermostat, smart speaker, etc. Depending on the model, they can communicate with each other, opening up new features and increasing usefulness.

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Alexa can now control your smart gadgets, without your commands

If you’ve got an Alexa-enabled device and a few smart home devices, chances are you’ve used her to control those gadgets. After all, using your smart speaker to control other smart gadgets is a no-brainer. Why do more work than necessary?

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One life-saving app for anyone who lives alone

The thermostat is always at a comfortable temperature. You can be as messy or as neat as you like. And you never have to share the remote! Living alone can be pretty awesome!

But it can also be a little bit scary. If there’s an emergency but you can’t reach your phone then how will you get help?

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